Jose Vasquez was born in 1974 in Bronx, NY and grew up in Southern California. He entered the US Army in 1992 following high school serving four and a half years active duty as a Cavalry Scout assigned to the 24th Infantry Division at Fort Benning, GA and the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, HI. After his tour of duty he enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1997 serving as a combat medic with the 100th Battalion/442nd Infantry Regiment and the 1984th US Army Hospital.

In January 2005, Sergeant Vasquez applied for discharge as a conscientious objector, which was approved May 2007. He has been active with Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) since June 2005. In his civilian life, Jose is working toward a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He intends to write his dissertation based on research with veterans.